Are Wasps Dangerous? Understanding Stings and Nest Disturbance in Old Dalby
Plugging a hole or covering a gap looks like a quick fix for a wasp nest, but it often pushes the colony into your home and raises the risk of being stung.
The tempting quick fix
You find wasps flying in and out of a small gap by a window frame or under the roof edge. It seems logical to fill the gap with something and shut them in. People try tape, filler, a cloth, a jar over a ground hole, or a stone on top of a burrow. It feels like taking control, and it is one of the riskier things you can do.
A nest is not a sealed box with a single door. It is a structure with a living colony inside, and the wasps will not simply stay put when their way out disappears.
Householders often do this late in the day, when the wasps seem fewer and it feels safer. In fact the colony is still active, and the wasps that have been out all day return home in numbers as the light falls. That is exactly the time a blocked entrance will cause the most trouble.
The same is true of ground nests. A burrow in a lawn or bank may have several tunnels beneath, and a stone or a slab on one hole simply sends the wasps out of another.
What actually happens when an entrance is blocked
Wasps that cannot leave by their usual route look for another. If the nest is in a wall cavity, a roof space or under floorboards, the colony may find a way through a different gap, and that can be inside your home. People who block an outside hole sometimes find wasps in a bedroom, a light fitting or around a loft hatch within a day.
The wasps coming back from foraging, meanwhile, find the entrance shut. They gather on the outside of the blocked point, agitated and in numbers, and anyone passing close can be stung. Even the act of blocking involves putting your hand or face near the nest at the worst moment, when the guards are on alert.
There is one more risk that is easy to miss. Wasps that are trapped and cannot reach the outside may chew through plasterboard, ceiling lining or wood, and the sound of chewing and scratching from a wall can be alarming. It can also leave you with a damp, damaged patch in the room, and nobody wants to open up a ceiling with a colony behind it.
Other ways of closing or covering a nest
Blocking comes in several forms, and all of them carry the same problem.
- filling a hole in a wall, fascia or soffit with filler or sealant;
- placing a bucket, jar or sheet over a ground entrance;
- pouring water or other liquids down a burrow;
- stuffing cloth into an airbrick or vent;
- nailing a board across a gap in a shed or fence.
There is also a quieter version of the same mistake. Repair work such as repointing, repainting or fitting new fascia boards can seal a nest in by accident. If you notice wasps in the area, put the job off until the nest has been dealt with.
What to do instead
Leave the entrance exactly as it is. The calm option is to stay clear, observe from a distance, and arrange treatment.
- Note the position of the entrance and how busy it is, from well back.
- Keep children and pets away from the spot, and avoid using nearby doors and windows when possible.
- Close windows on that side of the house, particularly in the afternoon when wasps are busy.
- Do not tap, knock, hose or cover anything.
- Book a treatment and tell us where the entrance is.
If wasps are already coming indoors, shut the door of the room, open a window to let them leave if they can do so safely, and keep away from the room until it is quiet.
If you are not sure whether a gap is an entrance, the test is simple. Watch it for a few minutes from a distance. If wasps keep going in and out, it is an entrance. If nothing moves, it is probably only a gap, but still leave it alone until you have checked with a technician, because a quiet spell can be followed by a busy one.
It can help to take a photograph from a safe distance, which you can describe or send when you book. Do not zoom in by walking closer.
If you are stung or wasps have come inside
Move away, wash the sting and apply a cold pack. If someone has swelling of the face, lips or throat, difficulty breathing, wheeze, dizziness or a widespread rash, call 999.
For wasps inside, avoid swatting, which tends to provoke them. Wasps indoors near a window are usually trying to get outside, so opening the window and leaving the room often works. Do not use the room again until you are sure they have gone, and let us know when you book, since it can show where the nest might be.
Wasps start building from late April depending on the weather, and numbers climb steadily until August. In a village like Old Dalby, older outbuildings and garden walls give them many quiet places, and any of these may hold a nest until the colony is large.
After the visit, the technician can advise when it is safe to go near the area again. Until then, treat the spot as off limits, even if it looks quiet.
Having it treated properly
The treatment cost is a fixed £95 per nest, and £35 for each additional nest at the same property. We do not add a call-out charge, and the price is confirmed on the phone before a technician visits. Nothing is done without your agreement. Our technicians are trained and fully insured, we cover homes and commercial premises, and we are open seven days a week with same-day service offered.
Our line is 0116 214 9259, and there is also a booking form on the contact page. If anyone in the household is allergic to wasp stings, tell us when you book so we can take it into account, and ask at the same time whether the empty nest can be taken down afterwards.
Wasps on your property in Old Dalby?
Fixed price £95 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.